Stoke Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 27 February 2024

The school celebrates the diversity of its community, helping pupils to feel welcomed and proud of their heritage. Pupils who are new to the school settle quickly and make friends. Pupils feel well cared for. Staff care for all the pupils well and staff work with families to ensure that help is readily available. Pupils are proud of their school and are grateful for the vast array of opportunities they have. These include performing plays at local theatres and participating in residential visits that develop team-building and problem-solving skills. These experiences help improve pupils' confidence. Pupils enjoy the range of clubs and activities available to them, including drama, choir, crafts and a range of sports. Despite recent improvements to the curriculum, some subjects are not securely embedded. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they should. The school's expectations of what some pupils can do are too low, including in the early years. This limits the opportunities pupils have to reach their full potential. Pupils feel safe in school. They know when and how to report any concerns they may have. Most pupils behave well, reflecting the school's values of empathy, optimism, kindness and truthfulness. If bullying occurs or unkind comments are made, pupils are usually confident that staff will address the issue.

What the school should improve

• The strategies used by some staff to help pupils to remember their learning are not as effective as they could be. As a result, some pupils do not gain the knowledge and skills that they need to deepen their understanding. The school should ensure that staff receive further support to help pupils remember essential knowledge over time.
• In some subjects, expectations of pupils' intended learning outcomes are not sufficiently high. Also, some leaders do not check carefully enough on how well their curriculum area is being implemented. As a result, pupils do not build on their learning and achieve as well as they should. The school should ensure that intended learning outcomes are more demanding so that pupils make better progress.
• Some staff in the early years do not have high enough expectations for children's learning. The classroom organisation in the Reception classes does not support children well enough to play, explore and think creatively. Children do not develop the prerequisite skills in readiness to enter Year 1 confidently. The school should ensure that the early years environment promotes children's curiosity, and that the staff's dialogue with children builds understanding so that children are ready for Year 1.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)